Earnhardt says short-track speed skating is 'NASCAR on ice'

Earnhardt says short-track speed skating is 'NASCAR on ice'

Dale Earnhardt Jr. compared short-track speed skating to NASCAR during his coverage of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed his favourite sport of the Olympics is short-track speed skating, comparing it to the motorsport.

Former driver Earnhardt is in Pyeongchang, covering the Winter Olympics and the 43-year-old shared his thoughts on one of the events.

In speed skating, the athletes skate around the track competing for the fastest times. In events like the team pursuit, the squad skates in teams of three and have to protect each other from opponents closing in on them.

Earnhardt compared the strategy and the risks to the sport he is most familiar with — NASCAR.

"This is just like NASCAR on ice, I swear," Earnhardt said in an interview with Ted Robinson and Apolo Ohno.

"It's really interesting and there's a lot of similarities, a lot of gamesmanship and the competitiveness between all the skaters and who's going to make the move," Earnhardt explained. "I mean all that sort of chess-match strategy, it plays out similarly on the race track."

There is also danger that comes with both sports, with risks of harm high in NASCAR and speed skating.

"The danger is real," Earnhardt said. "You see when someone makes the slightest mistake it takes them out of the event and it's usually a pretty hard crash."

Earnhardt may not be in a race car, but he appears ready to take on a new sport as he told Robinson and Ohno, "I'm ready to learn. Let's do it."